Zutara Alive
by shelzykid
Summary: Years after the war, Zuko, Katara, and others face the struggles of raising a family. Slight AU Fluff (I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender) Ships: Zutara, Taang
1. Chapter 1

_**Runaway Prince**_

It was a full moon and twenty-eight year old Katara couldn't sleep. She stood on the balcony of her room and gazed at the source of light that made her so strong. It might've been easier to sleep if her husband, thirty year old Zuko, hadn't had to work. She understood that being the ruler of a country brought a lot of responsibility, but she just wished it didn't have to take away their nights together.

* * *

Daisuke, the guard in charge of keeping the Crown Prince safe, heard the door open behind him. When he turned around, he found a small boy in a red silk robe.

"Prince Kaede, why are you awake?" Daisuke asked, but the small boy just kept walking. "Prince Kaede!" he yelled. He couldn't let anything happen to the boy, for he feared the consequences of losing the Fire Lord's son.. again.

Kaede may have been walking, but for a six year old, he was fast. Kaede turned down the hall that led to many different rooms, leaving Daisuke in the dust.

Daisuke ran down the hall, searching through every room for the young prince. Soon, he came to the Fire Lord's study and held his breath - he was going to have to tell Zuko that he lost Kaede. Daisuke exhaled and entered the study.

"Fire Lord Zuko, I'm afraid I've-" he said, halting after seeing Kaede in Zuko's arms.

"You let Kaede get away again, didn't you?" Zuko asked sternly.

Daisuke tried to explain the whole thing, but he couldn't get passed the lump in his throat.

"You're lucky that Kaede is safe, Daisuke. Because he's your responsibility at night, you'd be the one responsible if anything were to happen to Kaede tonight. Perhaps a kidnap, or maybe an assassination. Would you like to be the one to blame for the assassination of the Fire Lord's first born son? The Crown Prince? Heir to the throne? Do those titles mean nothing to you? Should I just _banish _you from the palace?" Zuko's anger grew quickly, and so did the candle flames.

"T-that won't be necessary, Fire Lord. I apologize for letting Kaede get away. I'll be more careful from now on," Daisuke bowed and left.

Zuko sighed. He set Kaede on the floor and crouched down in front of him. "Kaede, why did you leave your room?"

"I dunno," Kaede shrugged innocently.

"Kaede, you could have been hurt. If something happened to you, I don't know what I'd do," Zuko said, searching his son's face.

"Sorry, Daddy," Kaede hugged his father warmly.

Zuko couldn't help but smile. He loved his son dearly, and nothing could change that.

"Come on, let's get you to bed," Zuko said, cradling his son in his arms and carrying him to his room.

When they entered Kaede's room, Zuko noticed that the candle he'd put out was lit. He looked down at his drowsy son and asked, "Did you do that?"

Kaede looked over at the lit candle beside his bed and nodded.

Zuko tousled his son's mid-length hair and put him in bed. "Good job, my son," Zuko said. "Now, try putting the flame out," he gestured toward the candle.

Kaede gave his father a skeptical look.

"I'm just kidding," Zuko said, making his way to the door. Halfway to the door, the light went out. He looked at his son who was only smiling at him.

* * *

Zuko found Katara on the balcony of their room. He wrapped his arms around her waist and planted a small kiss on her cheek. "Hey," he said softly into her ear.

"Hi," she whispered.

"Something wrong?" Zuko asked concernedly.

"No, everything's great," Katara forced a smile.

"Come on, Katara, you can tell me," he poked her arm playfully.

"Alright, well.. Zuko.." she looked at her husband. "I'm pregnant."


	2. Chapter 2

_**Festival**_

"_Come on, Katara, you can tell me," he poked her arm playfully._

"_Alright, well.. Zuko.." she looked at her husband. "I'm pregnant."_

* * *

"Y-you're pregnant?" Zuko asked. "A-are you sure?

Katara giggled. "Yes, Zuko, I'm sure," she said, her face saddening. "But, you don't sound very excited.. don't you want another child?" she asked, tears forming on her eyelids.

"Of course I want another child! I was just surprised, Katara," he said, pulling her close.

Katara buried her face in her husband's chest and softly cried.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, resting his head on hers.

Zuko, eager to change the subject, broke the silence by saying, "Kaede's firebending is improving."

He felt a smile form on Katara's face. "Really?" she looked up at him.

Zuko nodded and lowered his head to give her a kiss. "I love you,"

"I love you, too," she said.

Zuko smiled as Katara yawned. "Somebody's tired," he teased.

Katara nuzzled against Zuko and closed her eyes, not wanting to deny the truth.

The Fire Lord picked up his wife bridal style and carried her to their bed. He pulled away the covers and laid her down, then pulled said covers back over her and kissed her forehead. "Good night, m'Lady."

* * *

Katara woke up to the familiar feeling in her stomach and ran to the bathroom, slamming the door in the process. This awoke Zuko.

Zuko ran a hand through his hair and noticed that his wife wasn't in bed.

"Katara?" he looked around.

"I'm in here!" Katara yelled, leaning over the toilet and retching.

Zuko cringed at the sound. "Are you okay?" he asked concernedly.

"I'm fine!" she replied, retching again. "Just morning sickness from the pregnancy."

"Oh, alright. I'm gonna have the cooks make breakfast, any requests?" he asked, slipping his robe on.

"No,"

"Thank Agni, the cravings haven't started," Zuko thought aloud.

"What?"

"Nothing," Zuko replied, quickly exiting the room.

While on his way to the kitchen, Zuko passed by the courtyard and noticed that ten year old Emi and four year old Kouhei were getting a bending lesson from their parents, twenty-six year old Aang and Toph.

Aang and Toph got married at the age of 16 and accidentally got pregnant with their daughter, Emi. They needed a place to settle down while Toph was pregnant, so Zuko and Katara invited them to live in the palace, and they've been there ever since.

* * *

At breakfast, Aang, Zuko, Toph, and Katara were reminiscing about their past adventures while the kids asked questions.

"Then, we went to the Fire Days Festival, which is a lot nicer now that there's no war," Aang said.

Emi perked up. "Can we go to the festival, Daddy? Please?"

Aang laughed. "Sure, why not?"

Emi cheered and turned to her cousin. "You should come with us, Kaede!" she suggested.

"Your father will take you," Katara cut in, smirking at her husband.

"He will?" Kaede asked excitedly.

"I will?" Zuko asked with a mouthful of food.

"Yes, you will," Katara said, crossing her arms against her chest.

"But, Katara, I have so much paperwork to finish! I can't just leave it!" Zuko tried to explain.

"I'm sure your paperwork will understand that you are trying to spend time with your son," she teased, causing the kids to giggle.

Aang spoke up. "Come on, Zuko, it'll be fun! It'll be a guys' day.. plus Emi,"

"But," Zuko grunted and gave in. "Fine, I'll take you to the festival."

* * *

It was about four hours past midday when Aang, Zuko, and kids left for the festival. Kouhei was on Aang's shoulders and Zuko was walking beside him, watching his son and the daughter of the Avatar walk hand-in-hand a few feet ahead.

"So," Aang started, breaking the silence. "Are you excited to become a father for the second time?"

Zuko gave his friend a look of shock. "How did you know Katara was pregnant?" he asked.

Aang laughed. "Are you forgetting that Toph and I can feel heartbeats? Well, Katara has two," he told him.

Zuko relaxed. Moments later, bright lights and almost the entire Fire Nation came into view. The kids shrieked with excitement and ran ahead.

"Wait up!" Zuko and Aang yelled, chasing after their kids.

* * *

**Okay, I know that really nothing happened in this chapter, but I just needed to update. I'll probably do one more chapter of this and then work on my Study Buddies story. Next chapter will have more excitement, I promise.**

**-shelzykid**


	3. Chapter 3 Part 1

_**Firebending Competition**_

_Moments later, bright lights and almost the entire Fire Nation came into view. The kids shrieked with excitement and ran ahead._

"_Wait up!" Zuko and Aang yelled, chasing after their kids._

* * *

"Daddy, can we get masks?" Emi asked, pointing to the Fire Days Festival masks.

Aang smiled. "I remember these masks," he said picking up a blue one with light brown leaves sticking out of it like a mane.

"I want this one!" Kaede announced, putting on a red and purple mask.

"This one suits you perfectly, Zuko."

Zuko turned to see Aang holding a mask they both knew all too well - the mask of the Blue Spirit.

Zuko's eyes narrowed. "Very funny, Aang."

"Just for tonight?" Aang begged, pushing the mask towards Zuko.

"I'm not wearing a mask, Aang," Zuko told him.

"Please, Zuko, just try it on?" Aang continued to plead.

"I'm not wearing a mask, Aang!" Zuko repeated.

Aang frowned and put the mask down, then smirked. "Okay, sorry, _Sifu Hotman_," Aang mocked.

Zuko shot fire at Aang, who dodged it, as an immediate reaction to the nickname.

Emi and Kouhei backed away from the fire in fear while Kaede stared at it in awe.

"Daddy, I'm hungry," Kouhei said, tugging on Aang's pant leg.

"Alright," Aang breathed. "Let's find some food."

As they were walking, many people gushed about being in the presence of the Fire Lord and the Avatar.

An older man jumped out in front of Kaede and caught him by surprise.

"Hey there, little one! You look like a mighty strong firebender," the man said. "How would you like to enter in the Fire Days Festival Firebending Competition?"

"Firebending competition?" Kaede asked for clarification.

"That's right!" the man cheered. "The Fire Days Festival Firebending Competition is where firebenders of all ages show off their skills!"

Kaede smiled excitedly, but was soon pulled away by Emi. "We can't waste time, we have to catch up with the others," she said.

"Aw, but I _really_ wanted to enter the competition!" Kaede whined.

"Maybe next year," Emi said as they caught up with Aang and Kouhei.

"What's next year?" Aang asked.

"Some crazy guy tried to sign up Kaede for a firebending competition," Emi explained.

"And I might've won if you'd let me sign up," Kaede pouted.

"Your father probably wouldn't let you sign up, anyway, Kaede," Aang said, helping Kouhei climb up to his usual spot on Aang's shoulders.

"I got a map!" Zuko announced, handing a small parchment to Aang.

"Shouldn't you have memorised the Fire Nation by now? Why do we need a map?" Aang gave the firebender a questioning look.

"This isn't a map of the Fire Nation, it's a map of the festival. This place changes every year, so I'm not able to memorise it."

Aang and Zuko searched the map for a restaurant while Kaede stared in the direction of the firebending competition.

"I have to sign up," Kaede muttered. He inched away from his family until he was far enough to run off.

Emi turned to see Kaede running and chased him. "Kaede! Where are you going?" she asked as she caught up to him.

"The competition!" He said, pointing to the stage that soon came into view.

"You aren't allowed to, though!" she told him, trying to pull him back.

Kaede ran to the sign up booth and wrote his name and age. The hostess of the competition smiled warmly at him and took him backstage while Emi followed.

"Only contestants are allowed backstage," the hostess informed Emi.

"She's my friend," Kaede cut in.

"That cannot be made into an exception," the hostess snapped, taking Emi's hand and pulling her off of the stage.

"You can't treat me like this! I'm Avatar Aang's daughter and a personal friend of the royal family!" Emi yelled as she tried to wiggle out of the hostess's grasp.

"That's nice, be sure to tell them I said 'hi'," the woman rolled her eyes.

Emi smirked. "Sure thing - Kaede, she said 'hello'."

The woman stiffened and whipped her head around to look at the small boy.

"Hello," Kaede said, arms folded and a smug look on his face.

The woman looked over the sovereign child, noting the crown and royal clothing he wore. "Y-you mean.. you're the.." she stuttered, searching for the right words to speak to the Prince of the Fire Nation.

Kaede nodded at her and watched as she dropped to her knees, then fell against her forearms in a full bow. "My apologies, Prince Kaede. You will be competing next," she said, standing and walking back out to the sign-up booth.

"Alright, Kaede, you had your fun. We need to get out of here," Emi said sternly, taking charge.

"What? But, I'm competing next!" Kaede whined.

"I don't care! You snuck off without your father's consent!"

"So did you," Kaede muttered.

"I didn't sneak off!" she bellowed, throwing her fists in the air. "I was trying to get you to come back!"

"You still left without telling anyone."

Emi growled at him.

* * *

Zuko looked up from the map and noticed something missing. He looked up and down the streets before tapping Aang on the shoulder.

"Erhm, Aang, where's Kaede and Emi?" he asked.

* * *

**A/N - Okay! This is only Part 1 of Chapter 3. I just figured I'd make 2 parts because I really need to update. So, hopefully I'll have Part 2 up soon. :)**


	4. Review Reply & Spoilers

No, this is not a chapter. Sorry to disappoint anyone.

This is just me answering a review that was submitted by an anonymous person because the review talks about what I have actually been thinking about for a while, so I just thought I'd reply to it to inform Anonymous and anyone else that may have been thinking the same thing.

* * *

**Review:**

Aang and Toph could easily have settled down at the Southern Air Temple or at any one of the other Air Temples except for the northern temple. The other temples are deserted.

Once they clear up and fix the damage, carry put home improvements and the Temple would be a great home. Plus the mountains are the natural habitat of the flying lemurbats and bison so Appa and Momo would be comfortable

Plus I don't think they would walk to the festival The royal servants always insisted walking was for the common citizens and the royal family always took the palanquin or a carriage.

I know Zuko and Katara are both humble and earthly people but I'm sure Zuko would also want to maintain his image as a strong ruler.

Plus don't forget Aang's best friend is a giant bison and he has his own glider so I doubt he would walk.

**My Reply:**

Yes, they could've settled down in one of the temples, but I just think that it'd be nice if they were living with their friends in the palace.

Yeah, the mountains would be a great place for Momo and Appa, but it is not confirmed that they are alive in this story..

Yes, I know, they should've taken a palanquin or a carriage, but I didn't actually think about it until the chapter was published. I may go back and change it because it is kind of bugging me, but I don't know.

Again, it's not confirmed that Appa is alive in this story, and I know he has a glider, but I think it'd be a little too much if Aang flew into the festival on his glider or on Appa. Plus, I don't think he'd leave Zuko in charge of 3 children while two of them are his own.

* * *

I also have some more news about the story that I think I'll share.

WARNING: Spoilers for the next few chapters are ahead. Stop reading now if you do not want any spoilers.

I have figured out all the details about the new Zutara child, and there is a surprise about it in Chapter 3 Part 2.

Also, someone special will be joining them in the palace! Yeah, you've probably guessed it by now. If you haven't, you'll just have to wait!

* * *

Okay, that's all for now. See you guys in the next chapter! Bye!


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